David Wyshner ’85 Leaves Legacy Gift with Charitable Trust to Support Hotchkiss for Generations to Come

David Wyshner ’85 attributes his love for the English language to his Hotchkiss experience of being taught and mentored by outstanding teachers. His experience at Hotchkiss led him to write for his college newspaper at Yale, where he met his wife Mary Ann. They were ultimately married in the Hotchkiss Chapel. It is poetically fitting, then, that they recently gave a gift to name an English classroom—a room that sits just outside the entrance to the Chapel.

In addition to their gift to name the classroom, David and Mary Ann also created a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) and joined the Town Hill Society. They saw a CRUT as an attractive opportunity to guarantee both a gift to the School and an income stream for themselves. The funds in the CRUT will be invested, and the trust will pay David and Mary Ann a percentage of its value throughout their lives; then the assets in the trust, including any undistributed gain, will revert to Hotchkiss.

David notes, “A remainder trust represents a neat structure and a unique opportunity to commit for Hotchkiss to receive the assets upon our death while also providing income to us during our lifetimes. This is truly the best of both worlds.”

Both of David and Mary Ann’s gifts are designated to support the School’s endowment without restriction. This means their gifts will be used in perpetuity to further Hotchkiss’s mission, supporting its most pressing needs. David knows that as a student he benefited directly from the philanthropic support of donors throughout the School’s history. As a current member of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Finance Committee, he is passionate about growing the endowment and using income it generates to support the School’s top priorities—retaining exceptional faculty and recruiting talented, promising students regardless of their ability to pay.

Hotchkiss is an important part of who David is today. He is honored to do his part in ensuring the School continues to thrive and lead for generations to come.